As a female leader in the world of accounting and finance, I know that the journey to leadership positions can be difficult. Many women struggle to even be considered for leadership positions due to inequalities in the workplace. However, in 2023, we have the opportunity to change this by adopting a more inclusive approach to leadership.

One way to empower females in the workplace is to create a female-led mentoring program. This can be as simple as encouraging current female leaders to mentor more junior staff. It’s important for female leaders to have role models beyond their managers, especially if their management team is male-dominated.

Another important step is ensuring that leadership teams are gender equal. The ideal leadership team should have a good mix of gender, age, and diversity. To make this happen, we need to consciously recruit senior females. By bringing the benefits of female leadership to the forefront, decision-makers will realise that this makes good business sense.

Leading by example is another crucial step. As leaders, we should be open and inclusive in group settings, ask for everyone’s opinions in meetings, create opportunities for female colleagues when we can, and share our stories of success and mistakes.

Also, we should be mindful of adopting good everyday habits to make a real change in our organisations. Some of these habits include being a good listener, asking for feedback regularly, and not being afraid to talk about female-centric issues such as menstruation, fertility, or menopause. The more taboo these subjects are, the more likely female colleagues are going to view them as a barrier to climbing the ladder.

Recruiting with diversity, inclusion, and equality in mind is another important step. This means that we should actively seek out and consider candidates from diverse backgrounds, provide equal opportunities for all, and create an inclusive environment for all employees.

In conclusion, there are many ways to empower female leaders in the workplace. By creating a female-led mentoring program, ensuring leadership teams are gender equal, leading by example, adopting good everyday habits, and recruiting with diversity, inclusion, and equality in mind, we can create better opportunities for female leaders and help create better businesses in the process.

This article was written by me and originally published on Global Banking and Finance website.

You can find the original article here: 7 ways to empower female leaders in the workplace